


One Day We'll Get Nostalgic for Disaster

by sentimental_boy



Series: Matt Murdock imagines [65]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, telepathic reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 13:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9443873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentimental_boy/pseuds/sentimental_boy
Summary: You're a telepath who is a detective on the police force. The captain of your precinct wants you to use your gifts to find Daredevil on fisk's orders.





	

You overhear your boss before he even approaches you with the request. Which is why you even give it a second thought. Sometimes when you overhear someone else’s thoughts, it seems like it would be easier to force them not to act on it. In all reality that _would_ be easier. It wouldn’t be right, though.

You’ve never liked the abilities you were dealt. They’ve always made you feel like you were somewhere you had no business being. Like you were privy to information that shouldn’t be yours. Which you would argue is less of a feeling and more of the truth. But morals on this matter are becoming less and less black and white with the ever growing number of people with powers. But you still don’t like reading minds, and you would definitely never use your powers to control another person. Only if it was a life or death situation. And unfortunately for you, this is not.

“Hey, detective y/l/n, can we talk?” Your boss tells, more than asks, on his way to his office.

You sigh, standing to follow him and preparing yourself for the conversation ahead of you. When you enter his office, you shut the door behind you. “What is it captain?”

“I want you to find and unmask Daredevil.”

You overheard him thinking about his conversation with one of Fisk’s men. You know that’s why he’s doing it, and it makes you even more reluctant to use your powers in this way. “He’s a criminal, I’m fairly certain that’s what we’re all trying to do.”

“Y/n, would you sit?” He motions to the chair in front of you.

You do as you’re asked and wait for him to continue.

“Now, I know with your abilities, you have a strict moral code you hold yourself to, and with all the power you have, it’s- well, it’s more than most of us could do.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He nods. “But I’m asking you to use them now. This Daredevil is more than a common criminal. I’m sure as an officer of the law, you understand that.”

“I do, and I understand that what he’s doing is illegal, but he’s not hurting innocent people; he’s not killing anyone-”

“That we know of.”

“It’s not in his profile. Like I said, I know what he’s doing is illegal but with respect, I don’t think he’s our biggest problem right now. I definitely don’t think I have any right invading- or _controlling_ his mind, assuming I could even get close enough.”

“Vigilante’s are dangerous, effective or not. But do you know why the effective ones are the ones we need to take out?”

“Take out?”

“You know what I mean. Put away. They’re the most dangerous because they undermine our power. They make people think that the police can’t do their job, and when citizens think we can’t do our job, they start taking things into their own hands. We lose their trust. So make no mistake, no matter what his intentions are, he is most definitely a threat to the good people of New York.”

You sit in silence for a while. “I just-”

“What?”

“If I say yes if I go down this path, I’m breaking my code. If I do that, how do I stop myself from becoming Kilgrave? Or any other power drunk moron bent on having their way, for that matter.”

-0-

Matt and Foggy make their way down the halls of precinct 15 thanks to a tip from Brett. Matt's listening to Foggy brief him on the potential client when he overhears a rather interesting conversation.

When Foggy glances over and sees Matt’s signature ‘I’m about to stop what I’m doing and sprint off to save some innocent soul’ head tilt, he stops altogether. “Should I even bother telling you that right now is a horrible time to go backflipping off of buildings?”

“I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

“Good, then we can move on.”

“Yeah, you go on, I’ll be right there buddy.”

Foggy doesn’t even dignify that with a response. He just keeps walking, wondering if Matt will, in fact, be joining him today.

 _“If you don’t at least try to find Daredevil, I would have to charge you with obstructing justice. Now, can I count on you?”_ Matt hears the captain a couple rooms over.

 _“Yeah, you can count on me.”_ Lie, Matt observes.

-0-

You’re staring down a bottle at the seediest bar you can find, trying to find an answer to any of your problems. It’s not working. To make matters worse, some guy thinks it’s a good idea to start bothering you.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

“Look, man, I’m sure you’re remarkably average, but I have bigger things to worry about tonight.”

He chuckles. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to ask you out.”

“Well, in that case, take a seat.”

“You know, I can’t help but notice, your voice sounds oddly familiar.” _Of course, you’re from the precinct today, but that might be pushing the pretense I have going as a regular blind man._

This is great. For the most part, you’ve learned how to control your powers, but if you’re particularly stressed or tired, people’s thoughts just start rolling in. Usually, it’s not pleasant, and that’s not the word you’d use for it now, but this man has sparked your interest. For the first time since he came up, you spare him a glance. Now the blind thing makes sense, going by the cane and glasses.

“Oh yeah? You get arrested lately?”

He chuckles. “No, are you a cop then?”

“Off duty, don’t worry. Detective y/l/n.”

He offers his hand. “Matt Murdock. I’m at the station quite a bit, defending the innocent.” _I wonder how I can ask her about her abilities without giving mine away. Or having her shut me down right away._

“Defense attorney, huh?” You shake his hand and let out a light laugh at his internal monolog.

“Yeah. I’ve probably heard you in passing or something. I have a question for you, then.”

“Shoot.” You tell him, downing the rest of your drink.

“So, with more and more people with abilities coming out, are there any on the force? I’m sure you’ve encountered them before, how do you prepare?”

“Good lord Matt, you’re killing me.”

He tilts his head to the side.

“I can read minds, okay?” You lean in, whisper/yelling at him.

Matt sits back, stunned by your confession. His mind runs away with him before he can respond. Out loud anyway. _Wait, how extensive are her powers? Does she know what I’m thinking now, or can she sort through my knowledge and memories? Does she know I’m Daredevil? Well, now she does, you dumbass._

“To sort of answer some of your questions, I can sort through your mind and memories, but I don’t. I don’t even like reading minds, but I’m tired and stressed and I can’t help it right now.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Do you want to get out of here?” He puts a hesitant hand on your back.

You sigh, tossing your money on the counter. “Lead the way.”

“Do you mind if I take your arm?”

“I thought you weren’t a regular blind guy.”

He shrugs. “It takes effort for me to 'see' and I’ve been at it all day.”

“Fair enough.” You stick your arm out, not bothering to narrate it. He takes your bicep and walks in step with you until you get to a church.

“You religious?” He asks.

“Not really.” You shrug. “I take it you are.” You sit at the bench he’s led you to.

“Yeah, I don’t know how good I am at keeping up with it.” He sits next to you. “It’s kind of hard to be a good Catholic boy when you go out and beat on criminals every night. Sometimes, though, I come out here when I can’t stand to be anywhere else.”

“So, why’d you bring _me_ here?”

He shrugs. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea, inviting you back to my place.”

“Oh shut up.”

“Hey, you’re the one who surmised I was, what was it, ‘remarkably average’? Upon meeting me.”

“Well, what was I supposed to think when a random guy came up to me in a bar?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, okay.” After a moment of silence passes, he goes on. “Anyway, I figured here was as good a place as any to talk.”

“And what would we be talking about? How I’m supposed to be arresting your ass right now?”

“Well I was hoping for a discussion about us, and the fact that we both have abilities, but we can talk about that too.”

“Have you never met anyone else with powers?” You ask him.

He shakes his head. “I mean, I’ve met plenty of powerful people, more so than I am, but I’ve never met anyone who has abilities like me. I know they’re out there, with the avengers, and murmurs of a mutant gene, I just-” he sighs. “I’m sorry if I’m invading your privacy here.”

You shake your head. “No. I’ve only met two others like me, and it wasn’t a good situation. Every once in awhile I’ll hear someone thinking about their powers, but I don’t like to advertise what I can do. Especially after Kilgrave, I find that even other gifted people don’t take kindly to me. At the very best, they’re distrustful when they find out.”

“Well, I trust you.”

You let out a little breath through your nose and a small smile settles on your face. “Why is that?”

“Well, I can hear your heart. I was at the precinct when your boss was talking to you, and you told him he could count on you to find Daredevil. You were lying.”

You shake your head. “There’s no way you heard that.”

He raises his brows. “Because Mind reading is so much more believable than super hearing.”

You sigh. “No matter how many people I hear about, or meet myself, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing that people can actually do these things. Were you always like this?”

Matt smiles, savoring that fact that for once, ‘like this’ isn’t referring to his blindness. Not directly anyway. “No, I wasn’t always like this. I was 10 when it happened. What about you?”

“Yeah, born with it. I thought it was normal until I heard my mom thinking. She couldn’t believe that her daughter was such a freak. Then she panicked, knowing I heard her and left me outside by myself. She tried to stay, but when I was seven, she left my dad to raise me. He didn’t ever understand, I still don’t think he does, but he tried. I can’t remember him ever being afraid of me. I was always grateful for that.”

Matt shakes his head. “I’m sorry. That shouldn’t be something you have to be grateful for. That’s the absolute least a parent should offer their kid.”

“So what about you?”

“Me?”

“No, that tree.” You roll your eyes. “Yes, you. What’s your damage? Never met a ‘gifted’ person without a tragic backstory.”

“Uh, long story short, I got chemicals splashed in my eyes saving an old blind man from an oncoming truck. My powers started manifesting after that.”

“Shit. That’s some bad luck.”

He shrugs. “I lived. Some would call that a miracle.”

“Before you got your powers did you ever pretend you could fly, or lift buildings with your bare hands, breathe under water?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“I remember all the neighbor kids would pretend they were superheroes, and I would too. Like I mentioned before, I thought I was normal. We never understood everything that comes with these abilities.”

“I think there’s a lot we don’t understand as kids, abilities or not. We think it would be great to be an adult and not have anyone telling us what to do, only to grow up and realize it’s not all we thought it was.”

“Yeah, I guess so." A minute ticks by in silence. "So, speaking of being an adult with responsibilities, what am I going to do about my boss?”

“Well, I didn’t hear all of it, what exactly is going on? Is it just that the police are cracking down, trying to find me?”

“I don’t think so. A lot of us think you’re doing some real good out there.”

“Us?” He asks, and he little hopeful uptick to his eyebrows might be the cutest thing you’ve seen.

“Yes, I’m one of the people who believes in what you’re doing. But Matt, you need to be careful. I’m sure you know that, but just because Fisk is behind bars now doesn’t mean anything. I think he figured out that he doesn’t need to grease anyone’s palm if he has the Captain of police in his pocket.”

“Wait, _Fisk_ is the one who wants me brought in?”

“Yeah, I overheard my boss thinking about how he doesn’t want to take you in, or exploit my powers, but it’s what Fisk is telling him to do. It’s not just my job on the line, it’s him. Knowing Fisk, he’s not going to let the captain go. People don’t retire from his service. My boss might be a scumbag for taking the money, but does he deserve to die?”

Matt murmurs your name, letting his hand rest on yours. “You know, I don’t kill. I do everything I can to stop it from happening because I respect human life. Even though sometimes I don’t think they deserve to be spared. That being said, my priest said something to me when I was starting out, and it stuck with me. He told me: ‘there’s a wide gulf between inaction and murder.’ Now, this man made his choice, and he doesn’t deserve to die for it. But you have to make a choice, and whatever that choice is, the result isn’t your doing. If you choose not to take part in this because you think it’s immoral, and your boss dies, it’s because of his choices. Not yours.”

You let the silence stretch on, contemplating what he said. “Thanks, Matt. You gave me a lot to think about, but I’m going to head home.”

“Stay safe.” He pauses as he hears your footsteps getting farther away. “Y/n, can I meet you again?”

You turn around. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

-0-

You meet many times after that. For a while you don’t know where you stand; whether you’re friends, or something else. You both blow straight past small talk each time you meet up (is this a date?) and the urge to see if he’s thinking the same thing is almost irresistible. But as long as you can control your invasive powers, you will.

Matt, however, does not. He knows by your heated skin and accelerated heartbeat that you’re growing more and more attracted to him each time you’re together. He knows how you feel about using your powers to gain information about other people, though, so he doesn’t say anything. Or at least he tries not to.

Instead of telling you about his feelings or the fact that he knows about yours, he plays up his blindness. It works with everyone else he’s tried to woo, so why shouldn’t it with you? The answer to that is because you don’t feel bad for him. You just ask him what he’s doing and laugh it off. You dodge any attempt at subtlety, as you dust off his romantic offerings and hand them back, not believing they were for you.

One night, he can’t take it any longer. He shows up unannounced at your door and hands you a single rose, listening intently to your heart. It literally skips a beat when you open the door, and even as he hands it to you, your hand is hesitant as it reaches out to take it.

When you invite him in and the rose is safe in a little vase, he backs you against your kitchen counter and presses his lips to yours. You’re shocked at first, but make up your mind before he can panic and it becomes awkward. You start kissing him back, bringing your hands up to card through his hair. When you part, he’s smiling so hard, he can’t help but let out a few little laughs before diving back in, to pepper soft kisses on your lips.

“You would think a telepath would be able to take a hint.” He murmurs with a cheeky smile, his arms still around your waist.

“You know what Matthew?”

He raises his brows. “Uh-oh, I’m about to find out.”

You laugh. “You, you- You’re lucky you’re pretty.”

He smiles, tilting his head to the side and brushing a stray lock of hair from your face. He lets his hand skim down your cheek, coming to rest at your jaw, where he lets his thumb trace. A look of serenity settles on his face and it hurts just a little that it’s the first time you’ve ever seen him like this.

“Contentment looks good on you Matty.” You smooth your hands down his chest.

He gives you a light smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He grins and picks you up, carrying you to your bedroom.

-0-

You wake up to one naked Matt Murdock laying next to you. He has this dopey smile on his face before his eyes even have the chance to flutter open. “Morning sweetheart.”

“Morning Matty.” You roll over and kiss him on the nose.

“Do you have to go to work today?” He gives you his best attempt at puppy eyes.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I have a full 30 minutes of procrastinating to do before I get out of bed.

He chuckles and pulls you closer.

“Don’t you have to work?”

“Yeah. But we don’t have any clients until noon today.”

You burrow further into his chest. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell my boss today.”

“About what?”

“Uh, about you.”

“Oh.” In his blissful state, he almost forgot about the fact that the cops and Fisk are after him. It wasn’t that big of an issue until you came along and told him everything. He’s not worried you’ll out him, but he hates that you have to deal with this.

“Yeah, oh.”

“I’m sorry.” He murmurs.

“If it’s not you, it would be something else. I’ll just tell him what I’ve been telling him. ‘I still haven’t found him’ isn’t going to work much longer, though.”

-0-

A few weeks later, you rush to Matt’s office after work. When you burst in the door with little more than a knock, Karen stands from her desk with a wild look in her eye before she realizes it’s you.

“Y/n, you scared me.” She lets out a breath and sits back down.

“Is Matt here?”

He steps out of his office with his head cocked to the side. “What is it y/n?”

“Fisk is being released.”

“Wait, what?” Karen asks, in shock. “It’s only been three years. With the number of crimes he's racked up, he shouldn’t be out. Ever.”

“You know how these things can be. Overcrowding in the prisons, ‘good behavior’. But more importantly, he’s going to be coming after you guys.”

Matt shakes his head. “No. I’ll deal with him. This is my fight.” _‘When I finally get out of this cage, I will dismantle the lives of the two amateurs that put me in here._ _You, Mr. Murdock, and Franklin, Percy, Nelson.’_

_‘No, I put you here, not Nelson. I did it.’_

_‘The two of you took the laurels; you’ll both take the blame. I’ll chop both the heads off of that snake.’_ As Matt remembers his conversation with Fisk, his breathing becomes ragged.

“Matt, do you want to tell me anything?”

His mind barely processes your voice. He’s so angry, so _scared_ that he doesn’t know what to do with it. Then again, he never has been good at dealing with his emotions. As it is, it takes all he as not to start screaming and throwing things. Instead, he settles for tearing his glasses off and throwing them on the nearest surface as he falls against the wall and puts his hands over his face.

Karen watches with wide eyes, and you sigh, going to pick up his glasses from where they skittered and fell off the table. They’re still in tact, so you take them and place them within his reach, silently moving to stand next to him with your hands in your pockets until he decides he can talk.

“Did-” He sighs. “Did you get all that?”

“I did. Do you want to take it to the station? The Captain is the only one left working for Fisk, and you trust Brett and me, right?”

He nods.

“Okay, why don't we get you into wit pro?”

“I’m not going to hide. I can’t; not when I was the one who dragged Foggy into this mess.”

You sigh, knowing it’s useless to argue with this man. “Well, call Foggy then, tell him to meet us at the station.”

“I’m sorry, did I miss something?” Karen asks.

You don’t even have to glance at Matt because his guilt for almost outing you is a tangible thing in the room.

“Uh, I’m a telepath.” You say, already winding up to ward off concerns of privacy and secrets, how extensive your powers are, blah blah blah.

All Karen does, though, is raise her brows. “Really?”

“Yeah. I usually don’t read minds unless I ask or overhear something. I’ve learned that people’s thoughts are often best kept to themselves. It’s actually pretty useless if you have any sort of morals.”

She nods. “So can you control minds too; or sort through a person’s memory?”

“Yeah, I can.” You murmur.

Matt senses your unease and pulls you into his arms.

“I don’t though. That part of it has to be intentional.”

“I’m sorry.” Karen says, reaching out to touch you, but thinking better of it and pulling back. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s okay. I’d rather you ask your questions if it puts you at ease around me. When people find out they tend to get skittish.”

“Well, I don’t scare easily. And you know, maybe it’s not useless. Who knows? Maybe you could help coma patients regain memories. You’re a detective, you could stop a criminal from harming someone.”

You give her a light smile. “You know, you’re one of the first people to realize that.”

-0-

“I thought you didn’t approve of what I do.” Matt challenges Foggy.

“Matt, for once, this isn’t about you and your stupid mask. We got ourselves into this together. I’m fine with hiding until we’re safe, but not without you. We took him down, together. I’m not going to let you get yourself killed because you feel guilty. Karen is a part of this too, and whether you two dragged me into the line of fire or not, I let you. I could’ve put my foot down, said that it was too dangerous, but I didn’t.”

“Foggy, please.” Matt murmurs, trying to keep himself from shaking. “I- I can’t lose you. Not like that. I can live with you shutting the door in my face, or not knowing where you are because it means you’re safe. You can live a happy life, without me.”

“Hey, Matt. No. We’re past that. I’m not letting you push me away again. You hear?” He puts his hand on Matt’s back. When Matt starts chewing on his bottom lip and taking deep breaths, Foggy pulls him in, and Matt sobs.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, Matt.” He runs his hands on his back, and Matt sits back, taking a breath. “I’ll go, but only if you promise you’ll be the one to tell me I can come home.”

“Foggy I don’t know-”

“Hey, it’s my one condition. Work something out with your girlfriend, I don’t care.”

Matt chuckles and scrubs his hand down his face before he nods.

“Yeah?”

Matt nods again. “Yeah.”

“Alright, bring it in; I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”

“Foggy, they’re not going to whisk you away. You’ll get to say goodbye; get your things.”

“I know. Bring it in anyway.”

-0-

Karen doesn’t go down quite so easy. It’s a moment in which Matt thanks every guardian angel he has that you were there. You ended up working her down with the promise of keeping Matt safe and getting to the bottom of things. You're sure it only worked because you’re just as stubborn and ready to barrel head first into danger as she is. Kindred spirits or something. In any case, you and Matt are free to find and confront Fisk.

As much as you’d like to work directly with Matt, that’s not how it works out. You serve best in the precinct, and Matt serves best in the shadows.

Fisk isn’t taking his sights off Matt and Foggy, and now that he knows about you, you doubt he’ll forget about a mind reader so easily. So you track him. Both you and Matt use your skill sets as he’s released to stay informed on his dealings, when he’s going to strike, and how.

It takes him a while. The first thing he does is fly Vanessa home. Then he starts sorting his dealings back into place. It takes so long, that you almost let your guard down. Until the day finally comes when he decides to strike. You and Matt are walking up the steps to his apartment when he stops dead in his tracks. As he listens, the upper half of his face scrunches up, his jaw going slack like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Then he snaps out of it, moving to tighten his arm around your waist.

“Matt, honey, do you want to let me know what’s going on?”

He swallows and winces before he answers. “Fisk is in my apartment. I know he might be after you too, but if he sees you with me-”

“You forget that I can actually control people’s minds.”

“I know, I’m just scared. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I don't want anything to happen to you either. That’s why we’re doing this together.”

He gives a stiff nod and takes your arm at the elbow as he unlocks the door.

When you walk in past the little hallway, Fisk is sitting in a chair, facing you, like Matt warned. It doesn't make him any less ominous.

Matt sets his cane against the wall, lets his arms drop to his sides, and points his head in Fisk’s direction. “Let’s settle this.”

“If you had approached me a month ago I’d have told you to go get your law partner out of hiding and-”

Matt interrupts Fisk with a bitter laugh. “Except, I didn't approach you. You broke into my house and waited for me. I'm assuming my police escort is the only reason you haven't attacked me yet.”

“Mr. Murdock, if I wanted you dead, you would be dead, and I'm afraid your little police officer friend here wouldn't be around to testify.”

Matt doesn't take well to threats; much less to threats toward those he cares for. He’s able to think through that red hot anger, though; able to push down the devil, cage it up so he can use it later. “So why aren't we dead, then?” It comes out as more of a challenge than a long-suffering question.

“I’ve recently come across some information of interest to both of us.” Fisk states.

“Is there a reason we’re being so cryptic?” You ask.

“I suppose you're right; I’ll get to the point. Words were never my strong suit.” Fisk directs his attention back to Matt. “Matthew, how is it that you go flipping off buildings and beating on criminals in the night?”

“The dark doesn’t really bother me.” Matt deadpans, stepping closer to where Fisk is sitting, arms dropping to his sides. “I’ve fought you and won. Twice. This time won't be any different.”

“That’s where you're wrong. I didn't come to fight and I hope it doesn't come down to that. I have a proposal for you.”

Matt furrows his brows and draws his head back.

“I know it's not what either of us expected.” Fisk continues. “But it would be a shame to waste your… abilities.”

Matt lets out a laugh, but the resulting smile is all edges, the dark notes are void of humor. “And what? I guess you want me to work for you.”

“We’ll have to make compromises in order for both parties to feel comfortable. In addition to a sizeable sum, you’ll have my word that I’ll stay away from Franklin- and anyone else close to you. Targets I ask you to take care of will be criminals, and you’d have the right to say no- without repercussions."

Matt shakes his head. “You see, I won't gamble with the lives of my loved ones-”

“I’ve been informed that you have ways of spotting lies Matthew. You won't find any from me.”

“I also don't kill.” Matt continues, ignoring Fisk's cajoling.

“While I admire your conviction, I’m sorry we couldn’t come to an agreement.”

You reach out into Fisk's mind because that sounded too much like a threat to your ears. It’s always disorienting going into another person’s mind, but doing it to someone like Fisk, that's not something you ever wanted to have to do again. The only way you can push past the toxicity of his mind is because you’ve trained yourself with lesser criminals over the years.

Still, it has its effect on you. The thing with your abilities is: you don't only hear the words that people are thinking. Thoughts aren’t always coherent sentences; they’re abstract. People tend to think in emotions and pictures. Words only accent- clarify- Trains of thought. Each person’s mind is a different mix, and some wouldn’t be intelligible at all if that was the way it worked.

So as you’re entering Fisk’s head, you’re getting his strange thought-feelings, not just the words ‘it’s a shame I have to kill him'. It makes you act slower, having to sort through his thoughts, then react with your own. Fisk is already stalking toward Matt, so you fight him the best way you know how. You go further into his mind, dredging up all his horrible past, and bringing it to the forefront so it’s all he sees.

-0-

Matt doesn’t know what happened. Only that one second Fisk was about to charge him, the next he’s crumbling to the floor, holding his head. It doesn’t take long to put two and two together.

He murmurs your name in disbelief.

You ignore him. As Fisk cowers on the floor, make your way across the room, looming over the man you brought to his knees. “I know you’re an ambitious man, Wilson. I know most couldn't easily stop you. But I trust that this little taste of what I can do is enough to persuade you to stay the fuck away from Matt, me, and the rest of Hell's Kitchen. You really don’t want to know what else I can do.”

“Are you _threatening_ me?”

“Damn straight I’m threatening you.” You cross your arms.

“Miss l/n, I’ll warn you, that would be unwise.”

“You threatened my people, and my city first, and you’re not getting away with it. I don’t like to threaten anyone’s free will, but if it protects innocent people, I will spend my life controlling you if I have to. Do you understand?”

A small fact about the human mind:

It takes days, sometimes weeks or months to process important information.

Before his mind can from a conscious sentence, you feel his anger rising up, your threat barely an echo in the back of his mind. Matt must be picking up on the same thing, because he balls his fists up at his sides, readying himself for a fight.

“Matt, don’t. I got this.” You snarl.

He nods, stepping back at your clear warning, but he’s still tense; ready to step in if you need him.

You go deeper into Fisk’s mind, finding all his misguided notions of good and evil, all his hate and vindictiveness. Aside from the moral issues that present themselves, this part is why you hate controlling people. You have to immerse yourself in their mentalities, rearrange their thoughts, and tinge them with morals while not letting it affect you. You’d think that you’re not in there long enough for it to have an impact on you, but when you’re surrounded- buried by it, it threatens to take over. Even once you’re out, it takes you a while to come back to yourself. Which is why after you come out of Fisk’s head, you rush out of the apartment.

Matt turns to Fisk. “Do I need to worry about you?”

“No, I-I’m sorry for how I’ve treated-”

“I really don’t have time for your apologies right now, so if you could get out of my apartment-”

“Right, of course.” He gives a short nod and walks out.

Matt follows him out of the apartment, but soon passes him, following the sound of your heart. When he reaches you, he breathes out your name as he gathers everything he can about your emotional state.

“Matt, I can’t do this right now.”

“Do what?” He murmurs.

“Deal with you being scared of me. I can’t handle it. I need a minute, then we can talk about this.”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m not scared of you. You saved my life in there. Or at least a whole lot of energy and wounds I would’ve gotten fighting him. I followed you because I wanted to make sure you’re okay. That couldn’t have been pleasant. Between being in _his_ head, and the fact that you didn’t want to do it at all.”

You let out a heavy breath. “Yeah, sometimes it takes me a while to come back to myself after. Especially with all the hatred he had toward you and Foggy, I felt that too, when I was in there. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t me.”

He nods. “Is it alright if I hug you?”

“Yes, Matt. More than alright.” You tell him as you rush forward into his waiting arms.

He pulls you close, pressing a kiss to your head. “It’s okay. I have you now.”

You don’t know how long you stay like that, only that right as you start to breathe normally again, Matt invites you back to his apartment with him.

Once you get into his apartment, he guides you to the sofa, and back into his arms. It’s as you’re sitting like that, that Matt speaks up again. “You know,” he clears his throat. “With my senses; they don’t always help me.”

You move your head from where it’s resting on his chest to look up at him, resting your chin on your hand so it doesn’t dig into him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, they’re technically an audio processing disorder, so if I hear a loud noise I’m not expecting, it turns everything upside down and sideways all at once. Sometimes I’ll panic,” he swallows. “I’ll forget where I am, who I’m with. I can barely think past all the _noise_.”

“That sort of sounds like what it’s like for me when I’m deep enough in someone’s mind to control them.” You shudder the slightest bit at the thought. “I hate it.”

He runs his hand along your arm. “I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. You can talk to me. If you want.”

“Thank you, Matt.”

When you don’t say anything else, he presses on. “So Fisk is really gone, he’s not going to be a problem anymore?”

“The human mind isn’t a stable thing. I changed his mind for now, but there’s no telling that with time he won’t become the same person he was. But if he knows what’s good for him he’ll leave us alone. If not, we’ll deal with it.”

He winds his arm tighter around you. “Thank you.”

-0-

When it comes time to tell Foggy and Karen to come home, Matt’s the one to break the news, like he promised. Naturally, the first place you go as a group again is Josie’s.

“How did you guys get rid of Fisk?” Karen asks.

“I went into his mind and… convinced him to leave us, and the rest of Hell’s Kitchen alone.”

Karen leans in and reaches across the table to cover your hand with her own. “Are you okay?”

You smile. “I’m fine. After I went into his mind, Matt was there to help me come back to myself. Any time I’ve had to do this before, I was alone. It’s nice not to be for once.”

“Hopefully it’ll become your new normal. I know it has for me. Having Matt, and Foggy, and now you. I know now I’m only ever alone if I choose to be.”

When your throat feels too tight, and your eyes are just this side of tearing up, Foggy swoops in and saves your sentimental ass. “To friends!” He raises his glass.

Matt and Karen echo his toast while you manage a nod before downing the rest of your drink.


End file.
